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Today’s top stories
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is optimistic about reaching an agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Yesterday, U.S. and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva to discuss President Trump’s peace plan. The president has set a deadline of Thursday for Ukraine to agree to the 28-point plan. European leaders are skeptical and believe the plan needs further development.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds a press conference following closed-door talks on a U.S plan to end the war in Ukraine at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, on Nov. 23, 2025.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
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Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
- 🎧 Europeans feel left out, even though they were in some of the meetings in Geneva. That’s because when the peace plan was drafted, European heads of state were not consulted, NPR’s Rob Schmitz tells Up First. That is a significant oversight for those leaders, given that the plan included numerous commitments from them, including billions of dollars for Ukraine’s reconstruction, as well as participation in an emergency blueprint if the proposal is violated. The Kremlin has not weighed in on the Geneva talks. The U.S. is expected to hold separate talks with Russia.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, abruptly announced on Friday that she would resign from Congress effective Jan. 5. The congresswoman rose to prominence as one of Trump’s biggest defenders, but she has recently become one of his biggest critics, saying he abandoned his own agenda.
- 🎧 From Greene’s point of view, she has not shifted on her political stance, NPR’s Stephen Fowler says. It is Trump and others in their party who have not maintained consistency in their America First conservatism. Fowler notes that it is essential to recognize the president is not a traditional conservative, and his return to office was based on convincing diverse groups and demographics with varying ideologies and policies to unite under the America First banner and defer to his interpretation of what conservatism means.
Over the weekend, Israel and Hamas both accused the other of violating the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The ceasefire has been holding for a little over six weeks. Yesterday, Israel also struck Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, for the first time since June, killing a Hezbollah commander. This action has led many to worry about the nearly year-long ceasefire in place there.
- 🎧 Much of the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has been completed. The next phase involves setting up an International Stabilization Force in Gaza, according to NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf. But there are still many questions about who will make up that force and how they will be trained. Lonsdorf says it may sound contradictory to still be discussing a ceasefire when there are so many people being killed and both sides have accused each other of violations, but the agreement is holding, and there hasn’t been a full return to war.
